Simon Thomas, boss of the Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square, has been
forced to change the name of one of its games because its British customers
found it “too vulgar”.

Thomas, whose family relaunched the landmark venue last year after a £40
million revamp, has ditched the American “craps” name — derived from the
French word crapaud, or toad — in favour of “dice” after it emerged
that punters were too embarrassed to ask where the craps table was.

“It’s a case of English reserve, I think, which in a way is quite charming,”
he said. “I understand why, because it is